The present invention relates to a novel porous and spherical carbonaceous product having its functional groups in specified relationships among them, which shows an excellent ability to absorb toxic substances in living bodies.
In recent years, a method of removing toxic substances within the living bodies by a hemodialyzer as an artificial organ has prevailed with the increased cases of disease due to troubles in renal- and hepatic functions.
However, there are demerits in the above-mentioned hemodialyser such as the necessity of skilled specialists for operation of the complicated apparatus of hemodialyzer and the high physical- and mental load onto the patient because it is necessary to take out the patient's blood from his body, as well as the relatively high economic expense.
From the above-mentioned viewpoints, a method of removing the endogeneous toxins formed due to the liver- and kidney diseases within the living body by an internal administration of an orally administered pharmaceutical substance, for instance, oxidized starch, has recently been proposed. However, since the proposed medicine is a kind of reactive substances and although it is able to remove intestinal urea, it cannot remove the essentially endogenous toxins caused by the liver- and kidney diseases such as octopamine, beta-amino-iso-butyric acid, dimethylamine, etc. and it has a side-reaction of stimulating the intestinal wall, and according to the above-mentioned reasons, such a medicine is not preferable.
On the other hand, in consideration of the favorable properties of medicinal activated carbon of absorbing various substances and of its safety to living bodies, trials of removal of the endogenous toxins caused by the liver- and kidney diseases with the medicinal activated carbon have been carried out. However, although the medicinal activated carbon is useful as an antidote which adsorbs and removes the gastrointestinal toxic substances taken from mouth, it has a demerit of its insufficient ability to remove the endogenous toxins in the intestines due to the diseases of the liver and kidney. The fact is based on the presence of a substance such as bile acids which coat the surface of active carbon and interfers the activity of the medicinal activated carbon. In addition, the medicinal activated carbon is apt to cause constipation after oral administration, the constipation being said to be particularly dangerous to the patients suffering from the liver- or kidney disease.
The present invention is based on the above-mentioned consideration and the studies of the inventor of the present invention for finding a pharmaceutical substance which is able to remove such endogenous toxins caused by the liver- and kidney diseases when internally administered to the patients suffering from such disease. After having discovered that a porous and spherical carbonaceous product containing specified functional groups in specified mutual relationships exhibits an excellent absorptive effect to the above-mentioned endogenous toxins even in the presence of bile acid within the intestinal tracts with a selectiveness of not absorbing the digestive enzymes in the gastrointestinal tracts without causing any symptoms of constipation, we have attained to the present invention.